Painkillers could be
real pain for NFL

Drugs in middle of player dispute

By BARRY WILNER
the associated press

Published: July 18, 2014;Last modified: July 18, 2014 11:36PM

Dozens of former players joining a lawsuit against the NFL say teams kept handing out powerful painkillers and other drugs with few — if any— safeguards as recently as 2012. That extends by four years the time frame for similar claims made in the original complaint and could open the door to a criminal investigation.

“On flights home, the routine was the same everywhere,” said Brett Romberg, who played center in Jacksonville (2003-05), St. Louis (2006-08) and Atlanta (2009 and 2011). “The trainers walked up and down the aisle and you’d hold up your hand with a number of fingers to show how many pills you wanted. No discussions, no questions. You just take what they hand you and believe me, you’ll take anything to dull the pain.”

With the federal Drug Enforcement Administration beginning to look into accusations contained in the lawsuit — filed in May and covering the years 1968-2008 — the new allegations could dramatically expand the investigation’s scope, legal experts said. Any violation of federal drug laws after 2009 would not be subject to the five-year statute of limitations.

“Then it’s no longer just about money. Then it’s potentially about criminal conduct and that’s a completely different ballpark,” said Steven Feldman, a former assistant U.S. Attorney for New York’s southern district.

“And all you need is one (criminal) act within the last five years to reach back and say, ‘The same group of doctors and trainers were there and’ ... if you have enough of them doing the same thing in different locker rooms, well, it’s hard to defend as a one-off,” he added.

The NFL is not aware of “any DEA subpoenas or investigations into club practices,” spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an email Friday. “There has been a league-wide reporting system in place (to track controlled substances and prescriptions issued by team doctors) since 1973 for compliance with DEA and state law requirements.”

The DEA declined comment, citing the agency’s policy against discussing potential investigations. But law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that the agency was looking into allegations in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit on behalf of 500 former players was filed in U.S. District Court in northern California and amended two weeks later to add another 250. The nine named plaintiffs include current ESPN analyst Marcellus Wiley, Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon and Hall of Fame defensive lineman Richard Dent.

It contends the NFL and its teams, physicians and trainers acted without regard for players’ health, withholding information about injuries while routinely — and often illegally — providing them with prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Percocet, and anti-inflammatories such as Toradol.